Keeping Yourself Sharp

You’re a good attorney. And, up until this point, you’ve done a great job of developing the mindset and perspective of a good attorney. But now, it’s time to start learning to think like a great Rainmaker. You have what it takes—but you must learn how to apply it strategically. It’s important that you make a habit out of educating yourself about marketing at every opportunity.

It’s important to continually “sharpen the saw” when it comes to your marketing skills. The term “sharpening the saw” comes from an old story, and I’ll share it with you now, because I believe that rainmakers can learn a lot from it.

Once, a man was struggling in the woods to saw down a tree. A farmer came by, watched him for a while, then asked the man what he was doing.

“Can’t you see?” the man impatiently replied, “I’m sawing down this tree.” “You look tired,” observed the farmer. “How long have you been at it?” “Over five hours, and I’m beat,” replied the man. “This is hard work.” “That saw looks pretty dull,” said the farmer. “Why don’t you take a break for a few minutes and sharpen it? I’m sure it would go a lot faster.” “I don’t have time to sharpen the saw,” the man said. “I’m too busy sawing!”

The point of the story is that the man would yield much better results from his work if he’d only take a few minutes to stop, focus and sharpen his tool. In the same vein, attorneys could see their marketing results improve significantly, if they only took a few minutes to really educate themselves on marketing.